Author Topic: '75 CB550F restoration: Project Lolita  (Read 53829 times)

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Offline fastbroshi

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #25 on: April 04, 2010, 12:06:11 PM »
  I think others have just Dremel'ed off the rivets and then just reattached after they're done
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Offline greasy j

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #26 on: April 04, 2010, 05:17:12 PM »
hey you're in my area. I'm on the edge of oakland in san leandro. I'm redoing my 750 a little at a time. crappy rainy day today. I guess it needs to rain once in a while to wash off all the marxist spittle on the sidewalks. ::)

only prob I have w/ Berkeley is the damn parking tickets. most of the homeowners I work for are there or in SF.

looks good so far!
« Last Edit: April 04, 2010, 05:20:20 PM by greasy j »

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #27 on: April 04, 2010, 05:56:56 PM »
hey you're in my area. I'm on the edge of oakland in san leandro. I'm redoing my 750 a little at a time. crappy rainy day today. I guess it needs to rain once in a while to wash off all the marxist spittle on the sidewalks. ::)

only prob I have w/ Berkeley is the damn parking tickets. most of the homeowners I work for are there or in SF.

looks good so far!

hehe ;D

Offline TyMatthews

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #28 on: April 04, 2010, 08:25:10 PM »
hey you're in my area. I'm on the edge of oakland in san leandro. I'm redoing my 750 a little at a time. crappy rainy day today. I guess it needs to rain once in a while to wash off all the marxist spittle on the sidewalks. ::)

only prob I have w/ Berkeley is the damn parking tickets. most of the homeowners I work for are there or in SF.

looks good so far!

Hey greasy... actually, I saw your project on here already, and knew you were in the East Bay area.  I like what you've done on your 750, and was thinking about seeking your advice on the engine bits as I noticed you were taking a class on engine maintenance/rebuilding.  Dismantling the engine is by far the most intimidating part for me; all the remaining hardware I'm okay with.  Perhaps an offer of some Kremlin beer and Leningrad pizza one of these weekends would provide sufficient bribery in exchange for your sage advice?  What do you say, Comrade?  The engine only has 3600 miles on it and I suspect everything is in good order; however, at the very least I want to take it apart to clean/paint/polish, so I might as well replace easy maintenance items while it's open.

Let me know!

Offline greasy j

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #29 on: April 05, 2010, 12:12:38 AM »
I pm'd you.


traveler

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #30 on: April 05, 2010, 03:53:56 AM »
hey you're in my area. I'm on the edge of oakland in san leandro. I'm redoing my 750 a little at a time. crappy rainy day today. I guess it needs to rain once in a while to wash off all the marxist spittle on the sidewalks. ::)

only prob I have w/ Berkeley is the damn parking tickets. most of the homeowners I work for are there or in SF.

looks good so far!

Perhaps an offer of some Kremlin beer and Leningrad pizza one of these weekends would provide sufficient bribery in exchange for your sage advice?  What do you say, Comrade? 

hehe....I knew it would come out.....you guys in your knit caps and birkenstocks!

~Joe

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #31 on: April 06, 2010, 01:52:18 PM »
Any updates?

~Joe

Offline TyMatthews

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #32 on: April 08, 2010, 12:50:30 AM »
Day 10 update:

Been somewhat slow this week, owing to a major science conference that's downtown for the week; however, I did make it home in time to spend some quality time on the gas tank.  From my Day 7 update, I left off with the insides of the tank cleaned out after a thorough wash with BBs and nuts.  The remaining surface rust still needed to come out, which is stage two of the KBS kit: a phosphoric acid/zinc etch.  The tank was first allowed to dry after Sunday's efforts.  I then fashioned up a little cap out of rubber to seal the inlet:



I then "glued" this down to the inlet with two coats of clear nail polish and let it dry overnight.  The first bead was laid down onto the bare metal ring of the inlet, then the second around the edges, forming a complete epoxy seal.  Nail polish comes right off with acetone yet is almost completely impervious to mild acids such as phosphoric, which is why I chose to use it.  After pouring in all of the phosphoric acid solution, the petcock inlet was sealed in the same manner as when I cleaned the tank... a bit of thick plastic, a strip of rubber to protect the threads, and then a screw-type ring clamp to tighten it down.  I then carefully and repetitively rotated that tank around for the better part of 45 minutes to make sure the entire insides were etched.  I walked around with the tank in my hands, rotating it steadily, for 5 minutes or so.  Then I let it rest for 5 minutes, and repeated.  

Once the acid etch was done, I drained it back into the bottle from which it spawned, and thoroughly rinsed the tank with warm water more than 5 times.  Filled it all the way up, drained, over and over.  The temporary inlet seal was cut off and removed for this process.  The last sealant step required a completely bone-dry tank, so I first started drying it with a hair dryer on high.  After 20 minutes of cooking the bloody thing, I peered inside with a little flashlight to see if there were any wet spots.  There were tons.  I really wanted to try and seal it that night, but the instructions were very explicit on being PATIENT.  They even put patient in bold like that.  So, I set aside my urge to finish it as soon as possible and let it dry for 24 hours.

Next day, I checked the insides again, and they were thankfully completely dry as far as I could see.  I needed to replace the seal again, which meant another delay in letting the epoxy dry, so I first (for good measure) dried the insides again with the hair dryer.  I REALLY wanted that sucker to be bone dry.  I replaced the rubber seal and nail polished it down again.  Let sit another 24 hours.

Now we come to last night.  Sealant time!  I poured in the entire contents of their silver-colored polyurethane blah bla blah mixture.  That stuff smells HORRIBLE.  I did this effort on campus in the fume hood, so all those nasty vapors were swept away and I spared both my own health and that of my neighbors/roommates.  Sealed up the petcock, then repeated the whole walking around rotating bit for 30 minutes to ensure the coating had covered every square angstrom of the inside of that tank.  When I was as confident as I could be that I'd achieved that goal, I let loose the temp seal on the petcock and drained out all that nasty-smelling sealant.  This took a long time; the sealant is quite thick, and begins "setting" in like 30 minutes, so I had to work somewhat fast.  You're supposed to avoid having puddles or large amounts of excess sealant build-up anywhere inside.  So again, I very patiently rotated the tank into a position to let all the excess sealant gather into the corner by the petcock, then drained it out of said petcock.  I repeated this over and over again, for what must have been the better part of 45 minutes, before the sealant stopped flowing out entirely.  At that stage, I was hella tired and ready to sleep.  I set the tank down flat in the fume hood to let it dry overnight.

Today, I am happy to report the tank looks smashing!  Just a reminder, here's before:



and here's after everything is done:





I haven't cleaned up the leftover bits of rubber and nail polish yet, as I'm waiting for the insides to fully cure.  Supposedly  needs 96 hours before you can put anything back inside the tank.  KBS claims this is a permanent solution to all future gas tank corrosion issues, as the steel is now totally coated.  Well, at least corrosion from the inside, that is.  They warn you not to get any of their sealant on your skin, and to immediately wipe it off any parts you don't want it to permanently attach itself, because that's exactly what will happen if you let it cure.  They claim no known solvent will remove it.  Sort of like silicone, I suppose.  If it gets on your skin, the only course of action is to let time pass.  So I wore a lab coat, safety goggles, and acid-proof gloves.  Yummy.  At any rate, I hope this is the last time anyone, at least in my lifetime, will have to work on the insides of that tank!  Now comes the outside... LOL


[EDIT]

Forgot to mention... a bunch of parts came today, woohoo!  New tapered steering bearings, throttle push/pull and clutch cables, spark plugs, oil filter, and brake shoes and pads.  I placed a second order with BikeBandit recently for new side "500Four" emblems and the steering stem spanner tool.  I've already begun building a new wishlist, though: new low-profile fork dust seals from a 500 twin and a replacement alternator cover.  Mine has a couple deep gouges in it that I don't think can be worked out.  I'll still try, so I haven't ordered it yet.
« Last Edit: April 08, 2010, 12:57:22 AM by TyMatthews »

traveler

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #33 on: April 08, 2010, 04:38:04 AM »
Just curious....what made you go with 500 Four emblems for your 550?

~Joe

Offline TyMatthews

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #34 on: April 08, 2010, 07:52:01 AM »
Just curious....what made you go with 500 Four emblems for your 550?

~Joe

Yeah, that's a typo.  What I get for trying to post at 1 am after a long-ass day!  Definitely supposed to be 550Four.

Offline Gcolgett

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #35 on: April 08, 2010, 08:18:06 AM »
Hi Ty: If you remove the Id plate and you get stopped by the man They will think that you have a stolen bike you should use duct tape and cover the plate for the sandblasting won't hurt it. We have done this and it works quite well. George Colgett  ;D
« Last Edit: April 08, 2010, 05:08:30 PM by Gcolgett »

Offline TyMatthews

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #36 on: April 08, 2010, 04:18:31 PM »
Hi Ty: If you remove the Id plate and you get stopped by the man They will think that you have a stolen bike you should use duct tape and cover the plate and the sandblasting won't hurt it. We have done this and it works quite well. George Colgett  ;D

Yeah, I thought about doing that, but that won't reveal the frame underneath the ID plate for painting or sandblasting.  I think I'll just dremmel off the studs and re-attach the plate after it's all painted and ready to go.  Should be straightforward enough.

Offline Gcolgett

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #37 on: April 08, 2010, 05:12:55 PM »
Hi TY If you want to know for sure call the highway patrol they will be the final say! GC

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #38 on: April 08, 2010, 05:37:22 PM »
+1.

The plate can be taped over and removed later.  Not so sure the Duct tape with take 400-500 degrees, but I do know they have special powdercoating tape that will.

~Joe

Offline Stev-o

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #39 on: April 08, 2010, 08:38:50 PM »
Ty-

What color do you plan for the outside of the tank? Stock??

Nice job on the inside.
'74 "Big Bang" Honda 750K [836].....'76 Honda 550F.....K3 Park Racer!......and a Bomber!............plus plus plus.........

Offline TyMatthews

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #40 on: April 08, 2010, 10:08:39 PM »
Ty-

What color do you plan for the outside of the tank? Stock??

Nice job on the inside.

Thanks!  It took a lot of work, but hopefully that's the last time I'll ever have to deal with it.

The original color of the bike was flake sunrise orange, as you can sort of tell from those images I posted above near the rim at the inlet of the tank.  The blue paint has flaked off in a number of areas, revealing the metallic orange beneath.  So in the resto spirit, I was planning on going orange again.  This bike will definitely not be a purist resto, however, so I'm debating right now as to exactly which flavor of orange.  My current #1 choice is this:



This is a 2006 VTX with a candy orange.  It doesn't have the same metallic flake as the stock sunrise orange.  I'm looking for something a bit more matte than the shiny, glinty metallic flake.  That's not to say it won't be shiny; with the right clear coat it'll still pop out.  I just think with the level of shininess that I'm hoping to attain with the frame, engine, and other hardware, it's too much to have a sparkly gas tank and tins (I'm going to paint the fenders, not re-chrome them, like the above image).  

I've seen a similar color on some HD XR1200s in person, and I was really struck by how well the colors contrasted, especially with the hardware.  The first time I saw it up close I was like "man, what bike is that?"  I had to stop and stare at it for like 5 minutes.  The entire frame will be a diffuse silver, like brushed stainless.  I don't know if it'll be paint, brushed steel, or powdercoated yet.  The engine and various bits will be a mixture of semi-gloss black, original engine silver, polished/brushed steel, polished aluminum, the orange, and probably some flat black tossed in for good measure.  An eclectic mix!

[EDIT]

Removed the HD image and put up a Honda VTX with an awesome orange metallic color.
« Last Edit: April 09, 2010, 05:09:34 PM by TyMatthews »

Offline Stev-o

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #41 on: April 09, 2010, 05:29:33 AM »
That color will look good.  PLEASE, no more HD photos on this site!
'74 "Big Bang" Honda 750K [836].....'76 Honda 550F.....K3 Park Racer!......and a Bomber!............plus plus plus.........

Offline TyMatthews

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #42 on: April 09, 2010, 11:37:29 AM »
That color will look good.  PLEASE, no more HD photos on this site!

Yeah, sorry... I don't like the bike, just the colors!

Offline fastbroshi

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #43 on: April 09, 2010, 12:05:52 PM »
  I saw a VTX in the parking lot one time that was a dark metallic orange, with a bit of a copper tinge.  Not as dark as the copper paint jobs that are becoming popular.  It wasn't as bright but it definitely popped.  Maybe you could use that? 
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Offline TyMatthews

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #44 on: April 09, 2010, 01:25:11 PM »
 I saw a VTX in the parking lot one time that was a dark metallic orange, with a bit of a copper tinge.  Not as dark as the copper paint jobs that are becoming popular.  It wasn't as bright but it definitely popped.  Maybe you could use that?  

Do you think you could find an image in Google that represents the color?  Or was it a factory color for the VTX?

[EDIT]

Nevermind, I found it and updated the image above.  It's a 2006 VTX with a candy orange.  I like that one better!  Thanks for the suggestion.
« Last Edit: April 09, 2010, 05:12:21 PM by TyMatthews »

Offline TyMatthews

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #45 on: April 10, 2010, 12:05:20 AM »
Day 13:

More new parts arrived today... the 550Four emblems, pin spanner tool so I can take off the steering stem, pod air filters, tach cable mount, new Lucas style tail light and license plate mount, and the four chrome nuts for the speedo and tach.  I also bought some supplies for putting together a soda blasting cabinet.  Tomorrow I'll be picking up a used pedestal grinder I found on CraigsList for $50 to polish up all the aluminum.  I also found an essentially brand new 4 gallon, 1.5 HP air compressor for $75, and some miscellaneous air tools like a grinder, impact wrench, impact sockets, hoses, and miscellaneous connectors for $50.  Man, I love CraigsList!  I have only basic tools right now, hence the added expenditures for stocking my nascent motorcycle repair shop.

I have to build myself a workbench for the garage... climbing around on the cement floor is just not cutting it anymore.  Tonight I spent most of my time taking parts off the engine to prep it for degreasing and repainting: the alternator, starter, crankcase cover, and oil pump have all come off.  I had to buy an impact screwdriver so I could bust loose those god-damned phillips head screws.  What a major pain in the ass.  I even ended up busting one of the screw driver tips on one of the alternator cover screws.  I split that sucker right in half!  Yet the screw remained, I'm sure defiantly smirking and cackling at my feeble attempts to dislodge it after 35 years of immobility.  I finally got it off, not until after I'd hit my hand with the hammer at least once (luckily wearing gloves to blunt some of the impact).  Suffice it to say I had a few choice words to share with my newly vanquished friend, the little #$%*er.

I found this place offering replacement stainless steel allen head screw kits for the entire engine:

http://stores.ebay.com/AlloyBoltz-Stainless-Steel-Kits__W0QQ_fsubZ503146010

Has anyone utilized this particular company?  They want $25 for the kit, which seems a bit steep to me.  I could probably put together the full kit myself for cheaper... McMaster-Carr has so many options for specific screws, I'm sure I could buy all the screws needed.  The problem is, I can't just order one or two individual screws from them... for the smaller thread sizes I'd have to order in batches of 50.  I suppose I could put together multiple kits myself from all the leftovers... would anyone out there have any desire for such a thing?  If so, I could potentially order enough to make X kits and split the cost X ways.

Offline Zaipai

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #46 on: April 10, 2010, 06:18:02 AM »
Nice build. You are off to a good start. I like what you did to clean up the indicator cluster.. Very inventive I would never thought to use Acetone for fear of removing paint etc.. Now I will.. ;)

.: Scott :.
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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #47 on: April 10, 2010, 07:46:13 AM »
Couple points, if I may.

The new Mitsubishi Eclipse comes in a Metallic Orange that REALLY pops in the sun.....check it out.  EASY to get paint for a modern car....any auto paint store can whip up a pint.

Bolts.  That's really not too bad of a deal....remember, you are paying for someone else to go to the hassle of packaging all the sizes needed.  Ace Hardware is a good source, sometimes, for bolts, etc.

Another method for removing bolts is to use a chisel and place it at a 45 degree angle in the direction to loosen the bolt.  Smack it with a hammer.  Granted, the bolt is ruined, but it can get them loose.  To avoid this trouble in the future, a coating of anti-sieze compound on the threads is the way to go. ;)

Any more questions, please feel free to ask.  I may not be very smart, but I have experience in workling on old bikes...this is my 2nd build. :-\

~Joe
« Last Edit: May 02, 2010, 08:35:26 AM by traveler »

Offline TyMatthews

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #48 on: April 10, 2010, 09:19:04 AM »
Nice build. You are off to a good start. I like what you did to clean up the indicator cluster.. Very inventive I would never thought to use Acetone for fear of removing paint etc.. Now I will.. ;)

.: Scott :.

Oh, to be sure... acetone does indeed remove paint.  And, it eats some plastics like crazy.  I found that the entire plastic indicator cluster can readily melt away with acetone; however, the plate that I was focused on is aluminum, which I had removed from the cluster since the glue had long ago hardened and become brittle.  I then tested acetone on the colored plastic light filters, and they were not adversely affected by it, so I went ahead and soaked them to remove the last bits of glue.  I thought about using isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), which tends to be more gentle on plastics, but the acetone worked.  That might be a better first choice, and only resort to acetone if the glue doesn't come off with IPA.

One trick I did discover as I was working on that piece... if you want to do a little bit of "painting" of the indicator plate, you can do the following: take a shop rag, dip it into some acetone, then gently rub (on the insides!) of the black plastic housing.  This will eat away a bit of the plastic, and turn that area of the rag black.  Quickly then rub with that same area (before the acetone evaporates) any part of the plate you want to grant a new black shine.  You're basically creating a soluble paint by using the acetone, then just transferring it to some other part.  I'd found that my metal plate after "cleaning" was somewhat faded and fuzzy.  After using this trick, I was able to lightly coat it with a thin layer of black again, and it looks much much better.  Just be careful not to overdo the melting part, and try not to coat the edges or the plastic light filters.

Offline Zaipai

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Re: '75 CB550F restoration: The Eviscerator
« Reply #49 on: April 10, 2010, 09:52:31 AM »
One thing you might want to get is Alden ProGrabit set its great for extracting screws, its only about $6 at Lowes and I suspect Menards etc will have them as well for about the same price. It just removed 2 totally head stripped screws that were rusted into the engine block like it was nothing.. Money well spent.. The nice part about this is that the drill part is on one end, and the grabit bit is on the other, so I used an extention and just flipped it around to extract the screws. Basically you drill the center of the screw head deep enough for the grabit bit to get a good grip then hit your corded drill with full power and out she comes.. its great!



Thanks for the trick, I will have to try some of that.. My plate is faded and I would love to jazz it up some.. However that is for another time weather is fantastic here and I am dieing to get out on my (still in parts) bike..

.: Scott :.
« Last Edit: April 10, 2010, 09:54:20 AM by Zaipai »
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